Just over 1,700 borrowers were granted exemptions to Central Bank mortgage lending rules over the first half of the year out of a total of 11,439 borrowers.
The Central Bank rules impose caps based on the size of a loan relative to the value of the property being purchased and relative to the income of the borrower.
Banks are allowed exempt borrowers from the rules in a limited number of cases and provided the total value of loans outside the mortgage caps do not exceed either 15% of the value of new lending in the case of the loan to value limits and 20% of new lending in the case of loan to income limits.
A letter by Central Bank economists analysing mortgage lending statistics between January and June shows around one in six borrowers were exempted from the rules.
As a proportion of the value new lending during the period, however, the amount of lending in excess of the cap came in below the 15% and 20% allowed.
The average age, loan size and value of property being purchased by borrowers who were granted exemptions were all higher than for those whose loans came within the Central Bank regulations.
First time buyers who were not granted an exemption, for example, borrowed an average of €174,299 between January and June of this year and the average price of the properties they bought was €239,000.
First time buyers who received an exemption or "allowance" as it is termed under the Central Bank regulations, borrowed an average of €296,817 and paid an average €351,263 for their homes.
